Introduction to the BASAS 2023 special section

This special section of Contemporary South Asia brings together a curated selection of papers presented at the 2023 British Association for South Asian Studies (BASAS) Annual Conference, held at the University of Leeds.These papers explore enduring themes of memory politics, state power, and socio-spatial exclusion in South Asia, examining how colonial legacies shape contemporary dynamics.Collectively, the studies underscore the persistence of colonial pasts in modern India's socio-political landscape and illuminate the creative strategies of resistance employed by marginalized groups.This section contributes to critical discussions on South Asia's politics of memory, space, and resistance, offering fresh insights into the ways power is exercised and contested.